"The Godfather of Soul," charismatic singer/songwriter James Brown is an American icon whose musical legacy deeply impacts the wider world. Caribbean Reggae star Bob Marley, Kenyan American Afro-Funk artist Victor Sila, Cuban jazz musician Arturo Sandoval, British rockers The Who, Japanese composer Shigeru Umebayashi, and American hip-hop star LL Cool J all cite James Brown as an inspiration and an influence. Renowned for his musical diversity, and also famous for his dance moves, James Brown was a singer, composer, lyricist, and bandleader who played a range of instruments including keyboards, drums, and guitar. With a mastery of many musical styles -- Gospel, Blues, Jazz, R&B, funk -- James Brown's original music covers a wide range of genres, though he is primarily recognized as a soul stylist and as the original innovator of funk. Born on May 3, 1933 in Barnwell, South Carolina, James Brown lived a hard-scrabble childhood and youth. James Brown's musical career began early in his childhood. He practiced playing a harmonica that his father gave him. His parents divorced when he was only 4. As a child, he entertained WWII troops from Camp Gordon with song and dance, and picked up some change that way. He developed his musical skills largely on his own, but also got musical guidance from various musicians such as guitarist Tampa Red, pianist Leo Austin, and drum-player "Mr. Dink". In his early years, he took on a range of menial jobs to support himself. He even resorted to crime. Despite the difficult circumstances, he managed to hone his musical skills and evolve as a musician. At age 16 he was in reform school for armed robbery, where during a musical performance he impressed musician Bobby Byrd, who was in the audience. Byrd and his relatives went on to help and join James Brown in his musical career. Brown's musical calling was briefly disrupted by sports stints as a boxer and a baseball player. Luckily for the world, James Brown then energetically followed his true calling -- music. The rest is earth music history. Thank you, James Brown, Soul Brother Number One, Mr. Dynamite, The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business, Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk, Mr. Please Please Please, The Boss, Godfather of Soul!!!

Imagine always communicating by singing! A few hundred years ago, African slaves working the sugar plantations on the Caribbean island of Trinidad were not allowed to talk with each other. Fortunately they had Kaiso, a traditional West Aftrican way of communicating through songs. The plantation owners allowed singing because they felt it would help the slaves work harder. This style of singing and communicating was the beginning of a super popular Caribbean musical form called Calypso! A Jamaican musical style much like Calypso is called “Mento”. Slavery has long ago ended, but the free spirit of Calypso lives on, showing the power of music and artistic expression is far greater than the power of repression. With the influence of the musical traditions of the Spanish, French, British, and Indian people who migrated to Trinidad, Calypso evolved into musical styles with many rich flavors. No wonder so many Calypso singers have such colorful stage names! Among Calypso stars are The Mighty Sparrow, Lord Invader, The Growling Tiger, Atilla the Hun, Roaring Lion, Lord Kitcheners, Lord Executor and Lord Pretender, Calypso Rose, the "Queen of Calypso," Harry Belafonte, and David Rudder!

Bob Marley, singer, guitarist, and song-composer, shook the world with his Reggae music and became an international superstar. In his songs, he eloquently conveys his strong spiritual beliefs and values. Before developing into a Reggae composer, he collaborated with many different musicians and singers, performing various styles of music, including Ska and Rock Steady.

Born in 1945, Bob Marley grew up to the sounds of Jamaican music while he was raised by his mother who scratched out a bare subsistence existence at an area called Nine Mile in rural Jamaica. When Bob Marley was just three, he made waves with neighbors after he read their hands and told their fortunes with incredible accuracy.

At the age of 5, Bob Marley’s mom sent him alone on bus to Kingston for schooling promised to him by his father, who lived there. His father dropped him off at an elderly woman’s home, then disappeared. Bob Marley didn’t receive his promised schooling during his 18-month stay there, but he seems to have had some significant exposure to music at this time. After his mother finally found him and took him back to Nine Mile, six-year-old Bob Marley declared, "I'm a singer now."

When Bob Marley was around 10, a little boy nicknamed Bunny moved to Nine Mile with his father Toddy Livingstone. Little Bob Marley and Bunny quickly formed a friendship. Bob and Bunny sang and performed music together. Bob Marley’s mother then moved in with Bunny’s father, and they became a family.

To find jobs, Bob Marley’s mother and Bunny’s father relocated the new family to Trenchtown, a Kingston shantytown built around a large reeking open sewer. In Kingston, Bob Marley was exposed to the music of Fats domino and Ray Charles. Bob and Bunny got some music training in a class taught by famous Jamaican singer, Joe Higgs.

In Kingston Bob and Bunny, who came to be known as Bunny Wailer, sang doo-wop harmonies on the street corners. They went on to land recordings And this was how the beginning of the Bob Marley legend. Music transported Bob Marley from a Life of Abject Poverty to Superstardom.

Soca and Jamoo: Two Original Musical Forms Innovated by the Same Composer in Trinidad Soca and Jamoo are two very distinct styles of music, but they were invented by the same person. Soca music is a dynamic mix of Calypso and Indian music. Soca rhythm and beats are hit out on a bunch of different Indian rhythm instruments like the dholak, tabla and dhantal It is most popular in the Caribbean, but also has fans around the world. Garfield Blackman, more popularly known as Lord Shorty or Ras Shorty I, invented invented Soca music When Shorty was a kid he always heard Calypso or Indian music being played around him. He created Soca music by combining Calypso and Indian music together-- and added lots of beats toit with a bunch of Indian rhythm instruments. Lord Shorty first called this new musical style Solca, representing the true “Soul of Calypso.” Solca became popularly known as Soca. Lord Shorty wanted Soca “to uplift people’s spirits”. Soca spread around the world like a hurricane after several hits by Soca performer Arrow, including Hot Hot Hot. Soca numbers by several other performers are also very popular. Soca continues to evolve into new musical forms. Jamoo Jamoo is a mix of reggae and gospel, with a modest following . It was pioneered by Lord Shorty after he quit performing Soca. Jamoo spreads a message of goodness and spirituality, as Lord Shorty had originally intended Soca to do. But Lord Shorty came to feel Soca performers were spreading bad messages in sharp contrast to its original purpose: “to uplift the spirits of the people.” Ras Shorty I -- "Watch Out My Children" To The Ceiling - Isaac Blackman (son of Garfield Blackman aka Ras Shorty I) A Little Bit About Shorty and His Childhood: Garfield Blackman, who would become most widely known to the world as Lord Shorty then as Ras Shorty I, an extraordinary Calypso singer and composer who invented Soca Music and Jamoo Music, was born in Trinidad on October 6, 1941. During his childhood in Trinidad, Shorty was exposed to a sea of music: Caribbean Calypso music, West African Music, and East Indian music. As a young child Shorty “was inspired by his older brother George, who played the mouth organ, and he was so talented that he soon mastered the organ and the guitar," a cousin recalls. Garfield Blackman aka Lord Shorty aka Ras Short I started singing Calypso songs before he was seven.

Many people associate Jamaica with Reggae music, but before Reggae there was Ska and Rock Steady. Ska originated in the 1950s by Jamaican Sound Systems emulating North American R & B, especially the sounds from New Orleans, Memphis and Miami. Flavored with Mento -- a Jamaican form of music similar to Trinidad's cCalypso -- the music quickly assumed a uniquely Jamaican up-tempo beat that became known as Ska. Simply put, Ska is a fusion of Jamaican Mento and American R & B. The 1959 recording of Easy Snapping by Theophelus Beckford is considered by some to be the first Ska record, though several artists claim to have invented the Ska sound, including prominent singer and producer Prince Buster.

Rap is a truly original musical form that has taken the world by storm. Rap may have roots that go back thousands of years to the Griots of west Africa. The Griot is a mystic who relates stories to the rhythm of drums, and so is the Griot's modern descendent, the Rap singer.

Reggae is a very spiritual and expressive musical style that originated in Jamaica, influenced by two styles of Carribean rock – Ska and Rock Steady. Reggae performers express their thoughts, feelings, and spirituality with their music. The most popular and influential Reggae performer of all time are Bob Marley and his band, the Wailers, who hail from Jamaica.